Corresponding author: Mingyi Tian (
Academic editor: D. Fedorenko
A new subgenus and new species of anophthalmic trechine beetles,
Sun F, Tian M (2015) First cavernicolous trechine beetle discovered in Guilin karst, northeastern Guangxi (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae). ZooKeys 545: 119–129. doi:
Many karstic landscapes and limestone caves are distributed in southern China, the largest karstic area in the world (
However, the cave fauna of the Guilin karst is not well-known.
The anophthalmic cavernicolous trechine genus
During two visits in the limestone cave called Chaotianyan, Pingle County, southern part of Guilin karst, a number of exemplars of a quite small sized beetle belonging to
Distribution of the genus
The beetles for this study were collected by hand or by using an aspirator, and kept in 55% ethanol before study. Dissections and observations were made under a Leica MZ75 dissecting microscope. Dissected genital pieces, including the median lobe and parameres of aedeagus, were glued on small paper cards and then pinned under the specimen from which they were removed. Digital pictures were taken using a Canon EOS 40D camera, and then processed by means of Adobe Photoshop CS5 software.
Length of body is measured from apex of right mandible (in opened position) to elytral apex.
length of head including mandibles, from apex of right mandible to occipital suture
length of head excluding mandibles, from front of labrum to occipital suture
maximum width of head
length of pronotum, along the median line
maximum width of pronotum
width of pronotum at front
width of pronotum at base, measured between hind angles
length of elytra, from base of scutellum to elytral apex
maximum width of combined elytra
National Museum of Zoology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris
South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou
Biological Museum of Zhongshan University, Guangzhou
Similar to the nominate subgenus
Refers to Pingle County, the locality of the type species.
China (northeastern Guangxi) (Fig.
A small, short and stout beetle, anophthalmic and depigmented, with short appendages, fore body distinctly shorter than elytra, head short and narrow, with two pairs of supraorbital setae, mentum and submentum separated by clear labial suture, pronotum broad and campanulate, both lateromarginal setae present, elytra serrate and ciliate, shoulders distinct, 5th and 6th pores of the marginal umblicate series widely separated, a crescent-form structure present on apical part of each elytron.
Length: 4.0–4.8 mm; width: 1.3–1.7 mm. Habitus as in Fig.
Depigmented; yellowish to reddish dark brown, very shiny, palps and tarsi light yellow.
Genae with several sparse and short setae, frons and vertex glabrous; a pair of suborbital setae present between mentum and prosternum; disc of pronotum with four erect setae each side of median line; propleura and mesosternum glabrous, pro- and metasterna with a few setae medially; elytra, prosternum and abdominal ventrites sparsely pubescent, entire legs pubescent. Microsculpture formed by faintly engraved transverse meshes on head and elytra, moderately transverse on pronotum.
Head anophthalmic, subquadrate, distinctly longer than wide,
Pronotum transversely campanulate,
Scutellum large, visible from above. Elytra longer than forebody,
Protibia straight, without longitudinal external sulcus. Protarsomeres 2–4 nearly moniliform. 1st tarsomere slightly shorter than or as long as, or longer than 2–4th combined in protarsi, mesotarsi, and metatarsi, respectively.
Male genitalia (Figs
This new species is named in honor of Ms. Haomin Yin, an active member in our cave biological study team.
Northeastern Guangxi (Fig.
The type locality of the cave Chaotianyan and its surroundings
It is an interesting discovery to find an
Holotype: male, Guangxi: Guilin: Pingle: Ertang: Letang: cave Chaotianyan,
1 | Body smaller and slenderer, head slightly expanded laterally; second dorsal pore situated on 4th elytral stria, umbilical setae 5 and 6 widely separated; elytra in apical quarter with a crescent formed by apical striole proper and an additional, inner, striole; aedeagus stouter, without sagittal aileron ( |
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– | Body mostly larger and stouter, head distinctly expanded laterally; second dorsal pore situated on 5th elytral interval; umbilical setae 5 and 6 set close to each other; only apical striole present; aedeagus slenderer, with a large sagittal aileron ( |
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2 | Scutellum at least partly visible from above; basal margin near hind angle nearly straight; apex of the median lobe of aedeagus parallel-sided in dorsal view; both parameres bearing four long setae at apices |
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– | Scutellum invisible from above; basal margin near hind angle emarginate, apex of the median lobe of aedeagus slightly expanded and gradually narrowed in dorsal view, parameres each bearing two or three long apical setae |
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First of all, we thank our team members Weixin Liu and Haomin Yin for their assistance during the cave biological expeditions, and Xinhui Wang for taking the pictures. We are very grateful to Drs. Thierry Deuve (